Dark Master
by Mayab
Summary: Hao is a powerful vampire. Mari is newly turned. He expects complete obediance. She won't give it. Throw in a few hyper vampires and rival clans, and who knows what'll happen? HIATUS
1. Prologue

Author's Note:

I had the urge to write a HaoxMari story...and you notice how whenever there's a couple, people will make a word that's a combination of their names, and that becomes the word representing the pairing? Like YohXAnna is YoNa? Well, there isn't any for HaoxMari, so I'm making one. It's HaRi. This is a HaRi story, dedicated to my new favorite couple...there really needs to be more fics for this pairing...

I don't own. Really.

Dark Master: Prologue

_A shadow raced across the field, towards a small cottage near a stream. The field was filled with wildflowers, all now in full bloom, and the moon reflected off the stone building. The shadow paused, and surveyed the situation. The forest surrounding the field was dark, and appeared empty, but the shadow knew that was just an illusion. There were many things out there, some harmless, some kind, many deadly. The cottage in the middle of the clearing was small, only big enough to house a few people, and rested only a few feet from the stream. The stream cut the field in half, and was rather small. But the stream was fed by a large river that, in the rainy season, often overflowed._

'That would be trouble around the flood season', _the shadow thought, imaging the damage that the tream would cause to the cottage. He inched forward, sticking close to the ground, just incase anyone looked out the window. He had watched this particular place for weeks, trying to decide whether or not one of the people that lived there was worthy of becoming part of his 'family'. _

_The shadow was Asakura Hao, one of the strongest vampires, and also the leader of one of the strongest clans. _

_Hao crept closer, and looked in the window. He smirked._

_His prey was sitting on the couch, reading a book. She didn't sense that anything was wrong, that very soon her entire life would change._

_The thought delighted him._

_

* * *

_

_Mari was curled up against the pillows on the couch, rereading her favorite book, _'Dracula' _for possibly the hundreth time. She set the book aside, and hugged the plushie next to her. She was getting tired, and would probably fall asleep soon. Her parents wouldn't be home until the next day, and wouldn't care if she slept on the couch. Turning off the lamp, she pulled a blanket on top of her, burrowed into the pillows, and tried to fall asleep._

_But sleep wouldn't come. A strange feeling fell over her, covering her skin like the blanket. It was like someone had poured freezing water on her, only she wasn't wet. _

_"Mari is scared," she whispered to her doll. "Why is Mari scared? She is safe inside the cottage, and no one comes out here. So why?" Shivering, she clutched the doll to her chest. _

_A small sound, as if someone- or some_thing_ -tapped the door. Mari slowly got up, and stared at it._

_"Please don't let it be a serial killer, or some criminal, or worse- Jevhova's witnesses!" The last part was her attempt to make herself feel better. It didn't work. _

_The lock turned slowly, and the door creaked opened. Before she could register what happened, it was on her. _

_She didn't know what it was, but it was large, and knocked her back onto the couch. Screaming, Mari kicked, trying to knock the creature off of her. She grabbed what she thought was its head, and pulled. The thing grunted, a very human sound._

_Mari's eyes widened. This _thing_ was human! She was being attacked by some human, one that sounded male, in her own home!_

_That really pissed her off. _

_She snapped her foot back towards her body, satisfied as her attacker moaned in pain, and rolled onto the floor. _

It is male! _she thought vindictively. Sitting up, she launched off the couch, using the man's back as a footstool. She started running to the door, and screamed as the man grabbed her ankle. She fell using her doll (which she somehow managed to hold onto) as a cushion. Thrashing her legs, she tried to get free, but the man's grip was like steel. He moved until he was hovering right over her, and Mari swore her heart stopped._

_He had long hair and dark eyes. But that didn't matter. What scared her was that he had fangs. Not 'I just bought these from the Halloween store, don't they look real' fangs, but fangs like the one she's seen in an animal's mouth._

_She whimpered as he lowered his mouth to her neck, and felt tears trickle from her eyes. _

_"No," she whispered, just before he bit her. She had one final thought before the world faded._

'Mari always wondered what would happen if she died...'


	2. Chapter One: The Feast

Author's Note: Another chapter! Thank-you to Na-chan and l2uly. My first reviewers! This chapter is dedicated to you.

Disclaimer: I don't own...otherwise Mari would have her own side story...

Chapter One

Hao lounged on his throne, watching his followers talking amongst themselves. They were excited, and with reason. The previous night he had returned to the clan house with a new member of their family, and they were having a celebration. He smirked as he saw Opacho dump her wine on Nichrome's head. For some reason she loved tormenting him, knowing he wouldn't do anything to retaliate. After all, Opacho _was_ Hao-sama's favorite.

His eyes fell on a group at the middle of the table. There was a blue-haired woman, who was in the middle of a drinking contest with a black-haired man. Kanna. A younger girl with orange-hair was laughing at two men in monk robes. Macchi. But it was the girl in between the two Hao's eyes focused on. She was small, not just physically, but in her presence as well. She huddled in her chair, her shoulders pushed up and her hands in her lap, wrapped around her doll. She glanced around, as if she wanted to disappear. Her face tilted forward, causing her blonde pigtails to move forward and obscure her face.

Mari.

_'She looks terrified'_, Hao thought, frowning. Then, Macchi leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Hao's frown faded as Mari laughed. He was grateful to the two women flanking Mari. When he had brought her back, she had been crying, begging to go home. Kanna and Macchi taken her under their wing. They had managed calm the hysterical girl down, something Hao was eternally grateful for. His family didn't have the most compassionate people in it.

'_I wonder what she's thinking?'_

_'Mari wants to go home.'_

She wanted to curl up on her bed and fall asleep, or be on the couch reading '_Dracula_'. Though after what happened to her, she'd probably never be able to read books about vampires again.

That's what she was now. That's what the man that attacked her was, and he had turned her into one.

She would never age past sixteen, never grow old. A part of her was delighted at that, but it was a small part. Running her tongue over her newly developed fangs, she turned to Macchi.

"Where's the food?"

Macchi, who didn't look older than fourteen, but for all Mari knew, could be centuries old, laughed.

"It'll be here soon. Oh, but when it does, Hao-sama talks first. He'll probably say something to welcome you to the family, then we'll dig in!"

Mari smiled faintly at Macchi's enthusiasm. "Hao-sama's the one who turned me, right?"

"Yep! He turned most of us, though, so it's not too special. Oh, look, the food!" Macchi added as several people pushed carts full of food in. Moving quickly, they put all the food on the table and refilled the drinks. When they were done, Hao stood up. Everyone fell silent.

"We're having this celebration to welcome the newest member of our family, Mari. I hope each and every one of you help her become accostumed to our way of life. Now, let's eat!" The people cheered, and started eating.

Macchi piled food, on a plate, then set it in front of Mari.

"Eat up! You're gonna need your strength!" she chirped.

"Huh? Why?"

"Because you're going to be awake all night, meeting everyone in the family. And there's a lot of people. You got up much too early this morning anyway." Kanna answered. It seemed she had won her drinking contest.

Mari frowned. "It's not Mari's fault. Mari always wakes up early."

Macchi laughed. "Well, we're gonna fix that! After all, we vampires are nocturnal!"

'_Mari doesn't want to be nocturnal, Mari wants her parents, and her cottage.'_

Hao watched his family. Opacho was throwing peas at poor Nichrome, who was thinking about what he _wanted_ to do, but couldn't because Opacho is _still _Hao-sama's favorite (and has been for a few centuries), Kanna and Maguna were having yet _another_ drinking contest (making it impossible to understand their thoughts) BoZ was trying to convince Peyote to listen to their new song, while Macchi decided to join Opacho in tormenting Nichrome by throwing pieces of silverware at him (he wouldn't retaliate against her because when Macchi gets mad, _everyone_ knows it).

Focusing on Mari yet again, Hao blinked. He could read people's minds without much effort, which is why he normally blocked it out, but he couldn't hear anything from Mari's. That was interesting...the only other person whose mind he couldn't read was his brother's mate's.

He shrugged it off, telling himself he'd think about it later. Noticing that someone had turned on some music, he signaled to everyone that they could dance.

When almost everyone had left their seats, he made his way over to Mari. She was still in her seat, hunched over and looking like she expected someone to attack her. Hao stopped next to her, and smirked. She hadn't noticed him yet...

"Having fun?" he asked, chuckling as she jumped. She glared at him, and shrugged. "That's not much of an answer," he added, trying to cajool her into speaking.

Her glare intensified, and turned away from him, making a small 'hmph' noise.

_'What?'_ Hao wondered. '_Doesn't she know I'm the Master of this Clan? And that her life is in my hands?'_

"Mari is having a lovely time, thank-you for asking," she said indifferently.

"That's good," he replied, pulling out a chair and sitting in it.

"So, what do you think of the Clan house so far?"

Mari scowled. She knew he couldn't see her face, but it made her feel better.

_'What does Mari think of it? It's crowded with vampires! Wouldn't be a problem, but Mari didn't ask to be here!'_

"It's...dark." she answered.

"Dark?" he quirked an eyebow, amused.

She picked up a cloth napkin, and began twisting it in her hands, taking out her frustation on the red material.

"Yes...Mari knows its supposed to be dark, because vampires are nocturnal, but its also dark in...feeling?" she said the sentence as a question, thought over her words, then continued. "It feels likes...many have died here...and...everyone has secrets?"

Hao frowned. "Everyone has secrets, Mari. If we didn't, we wouldn't be able to stand each other."

_'Mari knows that! Mari knows people must have secrets to live in harmony!'_

"Mari is aware of that," she replied in a monotone. "But Mari hates secrets. They hurt more than they help."

Turning her attention to the crowd of dancers, she searched until she saw Macchi. The orange-haired girl waved at her, inviting Mari to join. Mari shook her head, and looked at Hao.

"Mari is tired. Can she go to bed and meet people later?"

Without waiting for a response, or permission, she got up and walked over to where Macchi was.

_'I can't believe she just did that.' _That's basically what Hao was thinking. How could a newly turned vampire, who had no training or status, be so disrespectful to him, the lord of the clan, one of the most powerful vampires in existence? He could kill her with a thought! And she just walked off!

_'How dare she!'_ Hao was not used to disrespect, at least not within his own clan! Outsiders, of course, were a completely different category...

Several thoughts ran through his head, until one caught his attention. _'Break her spirit. Show her that you deserve respect. With her attitude, it will certainly be fun.'_

Yes, that's what he'll do.

Mari will regret being disrespectful to him.

Mwuahahahaha! Hao doesn't like disrespect...and seems to be a bit sadistic...Please review!


	3. Chapter Two: Mentions of a Visit

Author's Note: Next chapter! This one is devoted to Hao is hot, kuri kuri-chan, and especially to l2uly, who has reviewed both of my previous chapters. And, two chapters in two/three days? I am getting good at this!

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.

Chapter Two

Within a few weeks, Mari had settled into life at the clan house. She knew most of the people (or at least the ones that bothered to talk to her), and, most of the time, get to where she was going without asking for directions. When she did get lost, within an hour Macchi, or Kanna, or even Hao-sama would walk by and help her find where she was going (unless it was Hao, then she pretended she knew exactly where she was, even though that caused her to get even more lost). Macchi constantly made fun of Mari's love of '_Dracula_' ("We don't turn to dust in sunlight, we just get sunburned. Crosses, hurt us? Ha! Some of us go to Mass! And what's up with the garlic thing? I love garlic!"). Apparently the only things true about rumors is that a stake to the heart _would_ kill a vampire, and they did require blood to survive (only once a month, except right after one is turned, then for the first year, they need blood twice a month- Mari found out the blood she needed was mixed into her food).

Of course, Hao was still trying to get Mari to give him respect (not that she noticed). He'd ask her to do something for him (clean something, fetch something, tell someone something) and she'd refuse (she was busy, she didn't feel well, she didn't know where that was) and walk off. Someone else would jump forward, eager to make Hao-sama happy, not even noticing that the new girl just snubbed him (or they pretended they didn't, after all who wants Hao's wrath turned onto them?).

It was, in a word, surreal. For Hao, though, it slammed back into reality with the arrival of a simple letter.

"He-e-e-eey..." Macchi drawled, poking Mari's shoulder, causing the other girl to poke her finger (she just had to hold the needle in _that_ hand). Macchi was lying half on her bed, half off, hanging over the edge upside down.

"What?" Mari asked, sucking her finger. She was in the middle of repairing her doll, Chuck.

"I heard Hao-sama's brother's clan is coming to visit. Is it true?"

Mari scowled. How the hell would she know? She had been there, what, three weeks?

"Mari doesn't know," Kanna cut in from her seat near the window. "She's new, remember Macchi?"

Macchi giggled, looking sheepish. "Oh, yeah."

"It is true though," Kanna continued. "Yoh-sama's clan, _and_ the psycho bitch's."

Mari quirked her head, turning to look at the blue-haired woman. "Psycho bitch?"

"She means Jeanne, the leader of another clan," Macchi laughed. "She hates Hao-sama, but she's too _weak_ to do anything but talk. Kanna, why is she coming?"

Kanna opened the window and lite a cigarrette before answering, then said, "Her clan and Yoh-sama's have both found their new member. Since Mari joined, all the clan's have to meet, and show each other their new members. Part of some old treaty or something."

Macchi nodded. "Oh, yeah. Kanna, you're so smart! Or old," she muttered the last part.The older woman was gracious enough to ignore the last statment.

Mari, who had just finished repairing Chuck, put her kit away and jumped onto her own bed. "Why is Mari joining the clan so special?"

The other two mused over her question, and shrugged. "We can't really explain it. Maybe we should ask Hao-sama?"

"No thanks, Mari will remain ignorant," Mari's voice took on her don't-talk-about-_that_-person-to-me tone.

"Well, we don't have to ask Hao-sama! We could ask Opacho. She's been here the longest," Kanna offered.

Mari nodded. "Okay."

They searched the castle, eventually finding Opacho in the library with Nichrome (who was holding a large stack of books).

"Opacho-chan, we've been looking everywhere for you!" Macchi chirped, walking up to the dark-skinned girl. Kanna followed, but Mari hung back.

"Oh? I've been here all day," The girl answered. "What do you want?"

"Why do Yoh-sama's clan and Jeanne-sama's clan have to come here?" Kanna asked.

"To see Mari, and for Hao-sama to see their new members."

"Why?" Macchi prodded.

"So no clan can have more members than the others without everyone knowing. It prevents war," Opacho explained, adding a book to the pile Nichrome was holding. Nichrome wobled slightly. "You see, to not draw attention to ourselves, we only add a new clan member once every few years. Jeanne added her's a few years ago, and Yoh-sama added his last year. They've been waiting on Hao-sama, and now that Mari's here, they're coming."

Mari nodded from behind her friends. She pushed past them and took some of the books from Nichrome. He threw her a grateful look. "Mari thinks that makes sense."

Opacho blinked. "Mari? When did you get here?"

"I've been here the whole time," Mari replied.

"Oh. Well-"

"So this is where you've been," Hao's voice cut in. The group turned, and saw Hao walking towards them.

"Hao-sama!" Opacho cheered, tossing the book she was holding at Nichrome and running to her master.

Nichrome let out a very long stream of curses as the book rammed his face, and collapsed onto the floor. Mari bent down, dropping her own books.

_'How dare she ignore me!'_ Hao fumed internally. It had been like that for the past few weeks, and it really pissed him off! Even when he tried to help her, she snubbed him! He remembered the first time she got lost. He offered to lead her to her destination, but do you know how she answered? No thank-you, she said. She knew exactly where she was going. He knew she was lost, she had just said so a few minutes before he spoke to her (not that he was following her, he was simply heading where she was going, wherever that was). It still annoyed him two weeks later.

"Opacho, are you having fun?" he asked, pushing Mari from his mind.

"Yes! Nichrome is helping me collect books," Opacho said.

"That's nice. Kanna, Macchi," the two straightened up, "Since my brother and his clan, as well as Jeanne's are coming, I believe it's time for Mari to start training."

Kanna blinked. "Already? But Hao-sama, she hasn't even adjusted to our schedule!"

"I know that, but she needs to train. Part of the reason for the other two clan's visit is to assess the power of our clan with a new member."

"But she wakes up _early_, and falls asleep _early,_ too!" Macchi whined.

Hao saw Mari frown from next to Nicrome.

"Well, then, you need to get up early, too. She needs to train at least four hours a day. Focus on the common abilities at first. When she becomes adapt at those, you can start on her unique ones." he spun around and left the library. There were still several preparations left to make...

"What does he mean, training?" Mari asked Nichrome. He laughed, and helped her up.

"Every vampire has a set of abilities, common and unique. In order to learn how to control them, you have to train under another vampire's guidance, normally one who has mastered their own abilities. And, before you ask, common abilities are the ones every vampie has. There are two types, concious and sub-concious. Concious ones are the ones you have to learn to control. They include telekinesis, super-speed, and the ability to manipulate humans with words. The sub-concious ones are the ones that autmatically happen. They include accelerated healing, enhanced smell, hearing, taste, and night-sight."

"That makes sense," Mari commented. "But what are unique abilities?"

"Well, those are the ones that not everyone has. They vary, from anything that ends with '-kinesis' to shapeshisting, from telepathy to foresight."

"Shapeshifting?"

"That's very rare, only among the most powerful vampires, and hard to control," Kanna interrupted.

"Yep, very rare!" Macchi agreed.

"Nichrome, how dare you drop my books!" Opacho yelled.

"It was an accident?" Nichrome protested weakly.

"That's no excuse!"

"Opacho-san," Mari said, "Nichrome only dropped the books because you threw a book at him. Mari also dropped some books, too."

Opacho frowned, then sighed. "Oh, whatever! Anyway, Mari, you need to set up training hours with Macchi and Kanna."

Mari nodded, and waved as she followed Kanna and Macchi out of the library.

After a few minutes of silence, Mari asked them, "What are your unique abilities?"

Kanna answered first, "I'm gravitakinetic. That means I can manipulate gravity. Macchi's pyrokinetic. She can manipulate fire. Before you ask, Opacho has foresight, and she can cast an astral form of herself. Nichrome is magnokinetic. He can manipulate magnetic and electromagnetic fields."

Mari mulled that over, then hesitantly asked, "What is Hao-sama's abilities?"

Kanna smirked, and said, "He's telepathic, pyrokinetic, aerokinetic, geokinetic, hydrokinetic, and electrokinetic. He can read minds, and manipulate fire, air, earth, water, and electricity. You know all the lights? He's the one feeding electricity to the whole castle."

"Wow," Mari breathed. _'He's that powerful?'_

"Hao-sama is really strong! That's why he's our clan master!" Macchi cheered. They had reached their room by then, and all three imediately went to where they were previously seated.

"So, Mari, your training should take place after breakfast- your breakfast- pause for lunch, and end before dinner. That should make Hao-sama happy." Kanna explained.

"Okay. So when does Mari start?" Mari asked.

"Tomorrow."

"What?" Mari's voice was flat. Flat as in the you've-got-to-be-freaking-kidding-me flat.

Macchi giggled. Kanna sighed.

"Rest up, Mari. We begin your training tomorrow."


	4. Chapter Three: Training

Author's Note: Thank-you reviewers!

Disclaimer: Huuh. Do I own Shaman King? God I wish I that that kind of talent...No, I don't. Own Shaman King, that is.

Mari woke up at dawn, as usual. Back when she lived in the cottage, her room faced east and had the largest window (she sometimes thought her parents wanted some monster to snatch her away), so it was programmed into her system to rise with the sun.

Macchi, on the other hand...

"Macchi...Macchi...Mari wants you to wake up," Mari called into said person's ear.

Slept like a rock.

"Macchi. Macchi. If you don't get up, Mari will be mad." Mari's voice became more insistent.

Nothing.

"Macchi! Macchi, Mari swears to whatever god you believe in, if you don't wake up, Mari will make you wish you were dead!" Macchi rolled over. Mari almost growled. She leaned near Macchi's ear, took a deep breath. and-

"_MACCHI, GET UP RIGHT THIS INSTANT!_"

-screamed her lungs out.

Macchi shot up, screaming something about Nichrome, scorpions, and turtles.

"Oh. Oh, god, Mari, I just had the weirdest dream. I was supposed to train you, but I was late, so you asked Nichrome to send his army of scorpions after me, but they were really killer turtles, and they started eating me and- oh, it was horrible!" Macchi panted, trying to catch her breath.

"Nichrome has an army of scorpions?"

"Yes, but that's not the point! Mari...what time is it?"

"Eight o' two as of ten seconds ago," Mari replied, making a mental note to ask Nichrome about his scorpions.

"Damn!" Macchi screeched, jumping out of bed. In a speed that couldn't be human (of course, Macchi _was_ a vampire, so that made sense), she was dressed in her typical t-shirt under over-alls. "Mari, why didn't you wake me? We'll miss breakfast!"

Mari raised an eyebrow. "Macchi, it's eight o' seven in the _morning_. No one else is up. Plus, Kanna said she'd save us breakfast."

"Alright! Let's go!"

They ran towards the dinning room. Macchi, being Macchi, decided they were going to slow, and grabbed Mari's hand. Before she knew it, they were hurtling through the halls.

_Is this the super-speed Nichrome mentioned? Ugh...Mari feels sick..._Mari thought, covering her mouth. They reached the dinning room in five minutes, and were greeted by an annoyed Kanna.

"Macchi! Did you sleep in!" she yelled.

"N-no?" Macchi said meekly.

"Oh, real- Mari, are you okay?" Kanna asked, noticing Mari covering her mouth.

"M-Mari didn't like that...fast speed made Mari feel sick..." Mari said, kneeling.

"What!" Kanna and Macchi cried.

"That made you feel sick? I am so sorry, Mari!" Macchi wailed.

"Forget that! She's a vampire, she should be able to handle that! What are we going to tell Hao-sama?" Kanna snapped.

"But Mari's sick, we should worry about her first!" Macchi snarled.

"She'll be fine, she's immortal, but we're not if Hao-sama gets mad!"

"Who cares-"

"Mari will adjust!" Mari yelled. "Just stop yelling! Mari doesn't like it!"

Macchi blinked, then said to Mari. "Sorry, we just overreacted."

"Yeah. We did. You're right, you'll adjust," Kanna sighed. "Well, let's eat so we can train."

"She has motion sickness, Hao-sama," Opacho said, opening her eyes. "She thinks she'll be able to adjust. Will she, Hao-sama?"

"I don't know," Hao replied absently, consumed by his own thoughts.

_Motion sickness? How can a vampire have _motion sickness_? Damnit, if she can't master her abilities, it'll make _me_ look bad! _

And Hao hated people making him look bad. The only person he'd let get away with it was his brother's mate. And occasionally his brother. But when Yoh made him look bad, Hao got revenge. Normally the two would spar in front of their clans, and Hao would beat Yoh mericlessly.

_Damnit, I can just hear that snippity bitch Jeane! 'Hao, you can't even chose a _good_ addition to your clan! That girl gets motion sickness! It figures someone like you would choose someone as weak as her!' If she even _thinks_ that I'll kill her, screw the treaty!_

"Hao-sama?" Hao turned to Opacho.

"Yes, Opacho?"

"Maybe she will adjust?"

He sighed. "Who knows Opacho, who knows."

"Ok, Mari, focus on the block. Then, mentally picture it moving to the left," Kanna instructed. She and Macchi were standing behind Mari in the training room, which was simply a large room with stone flooring and walling. There was a bench on each wall, but they were also stone.

Mari nodded, and did as she was told. In her mind, the small wooded block in front of her flew at the left wall. She closed her eyes, and continued envisioning the block moving. Her eyes shot open when she heard a clatter and the other two gasp. The block was right next to the wall.

"Yay for Mari." she cheered half-heartedly.

"Mari..how did you do that?" Macchi asked.

"Mari did what Kanna told her to do." _What is the big deal?_

"B-but no one's that good on their first try! Most people can't even move it an inch!" Kanna exclaimed. "Unless...this isn't your first time? Have you used your powers on your own?"

Mari frowned. "This was Mari's first time doing that. She has never done that before. Maybe Mari is just lucky?"

"Or maybe you had psychic powers before you were turned?" Macchi guessed.

"N-no!" Mari protested. "Mari was a perfectly normal human before she met Ha-Hao-sama!"

_Damnit, Mari, you nearly said Hao! Without the -sama! These girls'll kill you if you disrespect their beloved _Hao-sama, Mari mentally sneered the last part.

"Maybe Mari is just lucky?" she guessed.

Macchi nodded. "Yeah, that's it. After all, Hao-sama must've been that good! Even better!"

Kanna sighed. "Okay. Well, we have over three hours. Normally it would take most people that long to move it tha much, taking it in small steps. Mari, you've just accomplished several hours worth of training."

Macchi started bouncing. "Does that mean we get a break?"

"No." Kanna said flatly. "It means we get to work on more complex things. Moving the block, making it float, and so on."

Macchi swore.

"Okay. Let's get back to work."

Hao chuckled. _The girl may not be able to handle speed, but she does have a gift for telekinesis. I wonder what her other abilities will be..._


	5. Chapter Four: Flowers

Author's Note: Yay, another chapter! School's starting soon, so I won't be able to post as much. Hao is going to be a little OOC, but its cute. This chapter goes out to l2ruly, who has reviewed each of my chapters!

PS: Someone has recently pointed out that it was mean of me to throw in that Jehova's witness comment in the prologue. To anyone who finds that statment offensive, I apologize, but there really are people afraid or freaked out by them.

Disclaimer: Lalala, I can't hear you! (Don't own)

Chapter Four

Mari sunk into the hot spring. Earlier, when she first came to the clan house, she had been adamant against bathing outside. After two weeks, she was less stubborn, but still refused taking a bath in the hotspring. Now, after relentless training (who knew Kanna was such a slave-driver?), she welcomed the chance to relax.

_Mm...Mari thinks she likes hotsprings now...Very relaxing..._

"Mari? Is that you?"

Mari's head snapped towards the voice, and she relaxed, seeing Opacho.

"Yes, this is Mari."

Opacho eased herself the hotspring (gracefully, unlike Mari) and sighed.

"Man, I've been helping Hao-sama all day! It feels so great to relax!"

Mari nodded, exaiming the rumored favorite of Hao-sama. Opacho had chocolate colored skin, and curly, sproingy (_is that even a word?_ Mari wondered) hair. She appeared to be fourteen.

"Mari has been training," she said, running her fingers through her blonde hair.

"Oh? Oh, that's right! You started training today! How was it?"

"It was easy. Kanna said tommorow, Mari can try 'manipulating humans with words.'"

Opacho nodded. "Ah. You must be very talented."

Mari shook her head. "No, Mari is just lucky."

"Modest, aren't you!" Opacho laughed.

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Why is Opacho-san up so...early?"

"Mm, well, Hao-sama needed my help."

"With what?" Mari asked, curious (against her own wishes).

Opacho froze. "Uh, research and stuff. Nothing else." She laughed nervously.

_Why is she nervous?_

"Opacho-san..."

"Y-yes?" the other vampire nearly squeaked.

"Why is Opacho-san so mean to Nichrome?"

"What? Why am I so mean to...I'm not mean!" Opacho protested.

Mari shook her head. "Opacho-san is very mean to Nichrome. She yells him, makes him hold all her library books, and throws food at him."

"Oh, that? I only do that because he's like an older brother to me."

"But it's mean. Nichrome can't refuse to help Opacho-san, or stop her from throwing food at him, because Opacho-san is Hao-sama's favorite. Mari must go now," Mari added, grabbing her towl. "Have a good...night?"

"Sorry for leaving you behind, Chuck," Mari said, falling onto her bed. The doll didn't respond (not that Mari expected it to; though after what she's been through, it wouldn't surprise her), and she hugged it tightly. "Mari didn't want to, but Kanna said you had no place in the training area. And Mari couldn't have you getting wet in her bath!"

Mari took the oppurtunity of being alone to examine the room (Kanna and Macchi had decided to go on a walk; they claimed they needed to discuss her training, Mari thought they wanted to figure out the problem of her 'speed-sickness'). The walls were stone (_Like everything else in this place,_ Mari thought), and the window was about seven feet tall, and five feet across. There were three beds (one-person sized, of course), and surrounding the three, over the stone, was a red plush carpet. Next to each bed was a night stand; on Kanna's there was a thick novel, on Macchi's was a pumpkin, and Mari's was empty (that's where Chuck went). Kanna's bed was next to the window, and had a large blue quilt. Macchi's was against the wall, near the door, and Mari's was against the wall farthest from the window. Macchi's bed had orange blankets, with pumpkin patterns on them (_Macchi is obssessed with pumpkins!_), while Mari's bed had black sheets, and a purple comforter.

"Hmm. Mari is bored. Not even tired," she declared. Quickly tying her hair into pigtails (she hated leaving her hair down; who wanted itchy hair on the back of their neck?), she made sure she had Chuck, and left her room. Walking down the curved staircase (Mari, Macchi, and Kanna lived in a tower) she thought about what she wanted to do.

_Mari could go to the kitchen, and get soem food...but she's not very hungry...she could ask Nichrome about that scorpion army...but where is he? Mari _could_ find and annoy Hao, but that would take an effort...That's it! Mari will go to the courtyard and pick flowers! And then she'll make a bouquet, and hang it next to her bed!_

Pausing once she got to the main hall, she scanned the doors.

_That one goes to the kitchen...that one goes to the training area...ack! Mari forgot how to get to the courtyard!_ Mari mentally smacked herself (couldn't do it in real life, that would make her seem to have emotions) and sighed.

"What's wrong?" a deep voice asked. Mari turned, and had to force herself not to roll her eyes.

Borris, the man who looked like he came straight out of a '_Dracula_' novel (makes sense, Dracula _is_ his ancestor) stood behind her, smirking.

"Mari can't find the courtyard," she finally answered, deciding it would be okay.

"Ah. Would you like me to show you the way?" Borris asked, amused.

"Mari would like that." _As much as she'd like you to stop looking stuck up!_

"Follow me," he ordered, walking towards a door. Mari ran after him (why do vampires like walking so fast?).

They walked through a few more doors, then they were in the courtyard. There were flowers everywhere. Near the back was a large weeping willow, under which was a stone bench. There was a cherry blossom tree in the left corner, with a large pond underneath.

"It's beautiful," Mari breathed, wandering near the rosebushes.

"Indeed it is. Hao-sama has a deep respect for nature. In fact, he was the one who started this garden, back when there was only him, Opacho-san, and Luchist." Borris explained.

Mari stopped, a shocked look on her face.

_The one who attacked Mari, the who turned Mari into a vampire, did all this?_ She was amazed. Mari had thought Hao was a pompous, cocky bastard (he took her away from her home, what else could she think?), but could there really be more to him?

_So? Mari hates him! He took her from her home, against her will! And he wants Mari to respect him! He deserves her hate!_

"Th...That's nice," she eventually said. Bending over, she inhaled the scent of roses, and smiled. "Would Mari be able to pick some flowers, for her room?"

"I don't see why not," Borris answered. "You can find your way back, right?" Without waiting for an answer, he spun around, and left.

Mari ignored the Dracula-wanna-be's rudeness, and began choosing her flowers.

Hao sighed. He had been preparing for his fellow clan-leaders visit, and on top of that, making sure Mari progressed in her training. For the girl's first day, she definately showed promise. He paused, noticing Borris walking nearby.

"Borris. What are you doing up so early?" he asked.

"Ah, Hao-sama! I just woke up awhile ago, and when I entered the main hall, I saw the new girl, Mari. She wanted to go to the courtyard, but couldn't find the way, so I helped her."

Hao nodded, and waved the other vampire to continue what he was doing.

_Oh, so she let's Borris help her, but she won't let me? That brat!_ Hao mentally fumed, trying to pretend that it didn't hurt his feelings. He didn't have feelings, and besides, why should Mari letting Borris help her, but ignoring him hurt him? She was just another member of his family. One he was planning on bending to his will (she _would_ respect him!).

_The courtyard, huh?_ Hao switched his course, and walked in the direction Borris came from.

When he came to his destinaton, he scowled. He couldn't see Mari anywhere.

_Did she already leave? No, I would have passed her!_

He scanned the courtyard, and paused when he looked under the cherry blossom tree. Hao walked over, and shook his head. Leaning against the trunk, holding serveral flowers, was Mari. Her eyes were closed, and her face had a rather sweet expression, much different than her emotionless stare. Unbeknownst to Hao, his motuh had formed a small smile.

He sat down, and started toying with the flowers she had gathered. There were several roses, in various colors, some daffodils, primroses amd tulips. It looked like she had at least one of every flower near her.

"Ma...ma...papa"

Mari's voice startled Hao. He had been so intent on his surroundings that he didn't notice that the girl had started stirring. She moved about, as if caught in a nightmare.

Hao was about to wake her, but her next words surprised him.

"I'll behave, I promise...no...don't...WAIT!" she screamed, waking up. Hao stared at her, shocked that a) she spoke in first person (even if it was a dream) and b) she screamed.

"H-Hao!" she said when she noticed him. Hao decided to ignore her slip. "W-why are you here?"

"No reason. I felt like seeing the flowers." He raised an eyebrow, and looked at the ones surrounding Mari. "Though it seems most of them are here."

"Borris said it'd be okay if Mari picked flowers, so she did!" she snapped, her face turning red.

"It's okay. I was just commenting on the amount you picked."

"O-oh." She looked around, and asked, "Where's Chuck?" She began searching the piles of flowers next to her.

Hao watched her, smirking.

"Where are you?" she moaned.

"Why is that thing so important to you?" he asked. "I remember you held onto it the whole time I attacked you."

"It's Mari's most important possession!" Mari wailed.

"Why? It's old and falling apart. You can always get a better one," Hao froze when Mari turned to glare at him.

_She's crying? Why?_

"Don't say that! Chuck is Mari's most important thing, the only thing she has to remember her parents with!" she hissed.

_Oh._ Feeling guilty (he only inuslted the stupid thing! No reason to get so mad!) Hao started rummaging around the flowers. After a few minutes, he found the doll.

"Chuck!" Mari sobbed, hugging the doll as if her life depended on it.

_Uhh..._Hao thought, wondering what he should do.

"T-thank-you, Hao-sama," she whispered, burying her face in the doll.

Hao ignored the heat rising in his face, and said, "N-no problem."

_I will not apologize for insulting her doll, I will not apologize fr insulting her doll, I, Hao-sama, do not apologize!_

"Sorry for insulting your doll," he blurted. _Damn._

Mai froze. "I-it's okay."

"Do...do you want me to help you carry those flowers back to your room?" Hao asked, ready for Mari to refuse.

"That'd...be nice. Thank-you," she replied.


	6. Chapter Five: Of Beds and Running

Author's Note: Thank-you for the reviews! In the last chapter, Mari's view of Hao shifted, while Hao actually apologized! What will happen next? Read and find out!

Dedicated to l2ruly, my most loyal reviewer!

Disclaimer: Refrence earlier chapters.

The night was cool, and a waxing gibbous shone on the castle, creating shadows everywhere. All the inhabitants of the castle were awake, and doing all sorts of activities. Some were training, some were eating, some were reading, but most were talking of the two clans that were coming in one moon cycle. Except for one, who was laying in her bed, scowling.

Mari burried her face into her fluffy pillow. Due to her enhanced senses, she could hear the many voices from below her (barely, it was like an annoying buzz). And they were only two floors below her. And the room she lived in was on the eighth floor.

_Could they be _any _louder? _she wondered. At that moment, the people downstairs started laughing loudly. _Obviously, it can._

It wasn't that she minded that they were having fun. She minded that they just _had_ to be on the sixth floor (it had the best living room, Kanna claimed). Mari considered complaining, but she didn't want to leave her bed. After earlier, she was hestitant to leave her room for anything. She thought someone would look at her and know what happened.

She was nice. To Hao. No -sama, Mari didn't feel like using it. Especially after _he_, the great Hao-sama, apologized to _her_, the lowly underling. But, anyway, she was nice. And she had sworn to herself to never be nice to the bastard who changed her!

Damn. It must've been because she had just woken up, and the courtyard was relaxing, and the nightmare, and Chuck missing, and he didn't look nearly as smug as usual.

Damn. Again.

The sounds from below rose in volume.

Looking at the flower bundles that hung from the ceiling and the ones in the vase on her nightstand (Chuck was in Mari's arms- after the scare she had earlier, she was not going to let the doll go), she smiled, the scowl easing off her face. It _was_ rather nice of Hao to carry _all_ the flowers she picked up eight sets of stairs, and then help her tie them up. He even was the one who suggested she tie the flowers upside down, so they'd dry in shape (not that she didn't know that; she just decided to let him think he was being smart). It made her happy (maybe?) that he helped her, and didn't complain.

Mari didn't like that. She wanted to hate the clan master. She wanted to hate him more than anything else, no matter how hard that would be. Pulling the blankets over her head, Mari tried to fall asleep.

The noise grew again.

_That's it._

Growling, Mari threw the covers back, and stormed down the stairs, not even noticing how quickly the two sets of stairs went by. Throwing the door to the living room (the best one) open, she yelled, "Mari is trying to sleep! While you may find it normal to stay up so late, Mari is not used to it, and she is very tired! So if you must be loud, _take it down a few floors!_"

She vaguely noted who was in the room (Macchi, Kanna, BoZ- which was just two guys, one named Zen, the other Ryo- Ashil, Turbine, Opacho, and Hao, yes, _Hao_). Knowing she was going to blush if she stayed any longer, she spun on her heel while slamming the door shut, and ran back up the stairs.

Jumping into her bed, she noted pleasantly, that it was quiet.

_Now that was interesting,_ Hao thought, smirking.

"What should we do?" Ashil asked. Everyone looked at Hao, who shrugged.

"You decide," he said, hearing their thoughts buzzing.

"We should stay!" Turbine said. "No _child_ is going to tell me what to do!"

"We should leave!" Macchi snapped. "Mari's really mad! She actually yelled!"

"So? What could she do? Yell some more?" Ryo laughed.

Kanna sighed. "Why don't we stay here and keep it quiet?"

"We shouldn't have to keep quiet," Zen pointed out.

"Excuse me? Uh, yeah, I sleep in the bed next to Mari, and I wouldn't put it pass her to throw a bed at me if we disrupt her sleep!"

Hm...If he made them stay, it could teach Mari that he won't listen to her, while if he did it might make Macchi annoyed. Even he didn't like it when she was angry.

"She couldn't do that," Turbine scoffed.

"This is the girl who hurled a block at a wall over ten feet away on her first try. I think she could" Macchi retorted.

"We should move. It would be rude to disrupt her sleep," Ashil interjected.

"So it's three for moving, and three for staying," Kanna said. "Opacho-san, what is your opinion?"

Opacho thought about it, then sighed. "As interesting as it would be to see if she _could_ throw a bed- no, not at you, Macchi- we should move."

The vampires left the room, some grumbling, most not. After all, Opacho _was_ Hao-sama's favorite...a fact most of the 'family' resented. She'd been his favorite for a thousand years...it wasn't going to change anytime soon...

Hao watched them leave, wondering whether or not Mari could throw a bed with telekinesis only...maybe he should test that theory...

Shaking his head, he followed the others. While he did want to find out if Mari's abilities had that extent, he was in her good graces, something he did like (it was much better than being disrespected, or flat out ignored...), and wasn't interested in changing that.

"Okay, Mari, that's good. Now try to get her to do something funny! Like cartwheels while singing the alphabet," Macchi suggested.

Mari threw her a dirty look. _Obviously_ Macchi didn't understand that Mari was _new_ at this, and _couldn't_ do that. This being her newest skill to practice, manipulating humans with words. The 'her' Macchi mentioned was Lilirara, an Indian woman who lived in the closest town. From what Mari understood, Hao...sama had a deal with her. She helped his clan with training, and they didn't feed off her people.

It was a win-win situation.

Concentrating, Mari looked at Lilirara, who had just finished doing the Macarena. Putting an emphasis on her words (like she did with telekinesis), she said, "**_Lilirara, Mari wants you to spin around seven times._**"

The woman did as she was told, with a blank look in her eyes.

"Mari!" Macchi complained, but was silenced quickly by Kanna hitting the back of her head.

"Damn, Mari, you're really kicking ass on training. Are you sure you were human?" the older woman asked, speaking around her cigarrette.

Mari scowled. "Of course Mari was human! If Mari wasn't human, does Kanna think it would have been so easy for Hao-sama to change her?" she snapped. That was the fifth time that day she had been asked that, and at least the hundreth in the two weeks she'd been training. Two weeks on telekinesis, from lifting the block to lifting her bed (yes, Hao _did_ make her do that, via Macchi). Most likely, she'd spend a few days on this (Kanna said it was the easiest ability and she didn't to master it), then work on adjusting herself to super speed.

Yeah, right. Mari had tried going just a bit faster than what she was used to, and nearly got sick on Turbine (Macchi commented something about divine retribution, but refused to elaborate).

"Well, it seems you have this down. But, try convincing her to do something she wouldn't do. Like say 'All hail Hao-sama!'"

"No!" Both Mari and Lilirara (who just regained consciousness) shrieked.

"I will not say anything nice about that _monster!_" Lilirara yelled.

"Mari won't force someone to do what they don't want," Mari snapped.

"O-okay..." Macchi said, confused. "Um, Kanna?"

Kanna blinked, and shrugged. "Well, I guess that's it for today. Mari, have some fun. We're going back to bed." With that, she turned to leave, dragging Macchi with her.

Mari sighed, and turned to Lilirara. "Mari is sorry she had to manipulate you. She didn't want to, but if she didn't, they would ask questions Mari'd rather not answer."

Lilirara smiled, shaking her head. "Its okay. Doing this keeps my people safe, so I'm happy to do whatever I can."

The vampire girl tilted her head, and she crossed her arms, leaving a space where Chuck would have gone. "You sound like you really care about them."

The woman frowned. "Of course. They may not be blood relatives, but they're my family."

Mari smiled softly, looking down. "Must be nice. Mari must be going." Spinning on her heel, she left quickly, not noticing Lilirara's sad expression.

She hurried through the halls. A week ago, she had learned that the courtyard she went to was only one of many, and set out to find one that few went to. The one she found, while particularily small, had an upper level and a lower level, connected by stairs Mari favored. It was easier to practice super speed while going down, rather than horizontal.

Positioning herself at the top of the stairs, she started walking (though to a human it would appear she was running, but Mari knew if she ran, she would go extremely fast). She ignored her stomach, which had become a yoyo, moving up and down with each step, and walked back up the stairs.

Reaching the top, she took a breath, hoping she wouldn't get sick. She turned to go down, and sped up. Now her speed was a bit under as fast as she went with Macchi the first day of her training. Just as she reached the bottom, someone stepped in front of the stairs.

_Oh no Oh no Oh no Oh no! Mari can't stop, She's gonna-_

With a loud thud, she hit the person, and started falling back. Mari squeezed her eyes shut, waiting to land, but before she could an arm circled her waist, effectively stopping her from falling.

_OhnoOhnoOhnoOhno! Mari looks like a fool now!_

"Mari?" a very familiar voice said.

_OHNOOHNOOHNOOHNO!_

Opening her eyes, she squeaked, "Hao!"


	7. Chapter Six: Sunburns

Author's Note: Thank-you, reviewers! Posting may come slower due to school, but I'll try to post as often as I can.

Disclaimer:No own.

When Hao stepped into his private garden, the last thing he expected was for someone to ram into him. But, if he were to guess the person it was, the only person who didn't know not to go into this particular, or would do it anyway, he would have guessed right.

"Mari?" he asked. _Please tell me she's not unconscious. The last thing I want to do is carry an unconscious girl to her room. On the eighth floor. Especially not this one._

Her eyes flew open. "Hao!"

"Mari, what _are_ you doing?" he asked. Her eyes widened, she pushed herself away from Hao, and she stumbled to the nearest wall.

Hao turned away, trying to ignore the girl who was currently getting violently sick in his private garden. He'd have to fix that later...

"Are you okay?" he asked when she fell quiet. Damn, he'd really hoped she get over this motion sickness of her's.

"Ma...Mari is...not feeling to well," she admitted.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and say '_Obviously.'_ He contemplated helping her inside.

Hearing a soft '_thump_', he turned and blinked.

Mari sat on the stairs, panting heavily.

Okay, so he didn't need to help her. She could do that herself.

"Why are you out here?" he asked, trying to keep the curiousity out of his voice.

"Running," she answered blandly.

He resisted the eye-rolling urge again. But he did say "Obviously."

Mari glared at him from under her bangs.

"You do know this is my personal garden, right?" Hao said, pleased when a small amount of panic appeared in her eyes. But it was quickly replaced by defiance.

"So?" she said, sticking her bottom jaw out stubbornly.

Hao bit back a growl. He was _kind_ (and Hao hated being kind; it was too...weak) enough to keep her from falling, _and _ consider helping her, and she had the nerve to act like that? He attempted to read her mind, but all he found was a blank spot. Oh, yeah, he couldn't read her mind the night of her welcoming party, either...

"So, it's off limits to everyone, even Opacho." he snapped. _Damn, this girl is annoying._

"Mari was unaware. Now that she knows, she will be sure to stay away, Hao-_sama_." she retorted, standing quickly. She swayed, and fell forward.

Without thinking, Hao stepped forward and caught her. He felt her stiffen, and she pushed him away. She looked as she was about to say something, but shook her head and marched past Hao into the castle.

Hao didn't notice. He was staring at the ground in front of him, thinking _Why did I do that?_

_What-the-hell-what-the-hell-what-the-hell?_ Mari's mind ran over that one line over and over again as she ran (yes, ran; she had quickly gotten over her motion sickness) towards her room.

Then it changed into _Why-why-why-why-why-why? Why did it have to be _his_ garden? Why?_ she mentally whined. Why had she ran into _him_, why had he stopped her from falling, _why_ had she liked it when he caught her?

No. She was _not_ going to think of that. She was going to go to her room, lay down...and be questioned by Macchi.

_Mari, why's your face red? Where were you? Did you get sick? What were you doing? Were you running again?_

Okay, the bedroom was definately out of the question. At least until she got her heartrate under control...

So where would she go?

Library? No, Opacho was always there, even during the day (and Mari could barely remember where it was).

The big courtyard? No, that's the first place Macchi and Kanna will look.

The big hall (Mari never could remember its real name) where they held that party? No, people walked through there on a daily basis.

An idea hit her, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, she smirked. Within a few minutes she was in the kitchen (which was remarkably empty) preparing herself a salad. Yes, despite how she came across, Mari loved salads. In fact, if she could go forever with eating only salads, she would probably do so. But she would get hungry for a change, and she did require blood to survive.

Oh well.

Eating the salad, Mari tried to think of anything but her life. The weather was nice, which sadly meant she had the beginings of a sunburn on her uncovered skin. Before she became a vampire, she never got sunburned, so she had no idea if it would be painful or not.

She hoped not. Once, she had stuck her hand on the stove, and her mother had forced her to hold her hand in a bucket of ice for an hour.

Mari spent the rest of the day in the kitchen, leaving ten minutes before the other vampires would awaken (except for Kanna, Machi, Opacho, and Hao, all of whom had become diurnal, adjusting to Mari's schedule). She took a shower (ugh, she _did_ have a sunburn), and after some debate, decided to leave her hair down. Walking to her room, Mari didn't bother trying to avoid places where people would normally be. They had just woken up, and all would be eating breakfast. She crept into her room, rolling her eyes at Macchi and Kanna, both of whom were sprawled on the floor. Picking up Chuck, she hugged in, inhaling the scent of flowers. Earlier that week, the doll had gotten a large tear, and much of the stuffing had fallen out (and being outside, the wind had spread the stuffing quickly), so she used the dried flower petals to fill she doll.

Despite the fact that this was the home of many vampires (or maybe because?) there were no '_Dracula'_ book's or any other vampire series. If she ever got to go to a city, Mari was going to change that. She pulled a blanket out of the closet (Macchi did occasionally have good ideas), turned off all the lights, and curled up on one of the couches. A feeling of de ja vu over took her, and she realized that she had been almost exactly the way she was at that moment the night Hao had changed her. Almost instantly she shot up and scanned the room, making sure no one was in there, then realized what she was doing. Mentally scolding herself, Mari laughed at how foolish she had been. She was already a vampire, she couldn't be turned into one _again_.

_Mari is getting paranoid..._the girl thought, settling herself on the couch. After a few minutes she remembered her sunburn, and thought of how much it was going to hurt (it was _really_ red) and wished fervently that her sunburn would disappear. Trying to go back to sleep, the next thing she knew she was opening her eyes to see Macchi's face _very_ close to her own. Not 'Hey, I can see your nosehair close,' but 'Hey, your pores are huge' close.

So what did Mari do? What anyone would do.

She screamed and lashed out, catching Macchi's chin with her fist.

"Shit!" Mari heard Kanna say.

Macchi collapsed on the floor, unconcious, and Kanna stood over her, shaking her head. "I told her not to surprise you..."

"Mari is so sorry, Macchi! Kanna, Mari is sorry!" the youngest girl said, reaching down to shake her friend.

_Huh?_ Mari thought when she saw her arms. Instead of the angry red they were supposed to be, they were her normal pale white shade. _Its a vampire thing,_ she told herself.

"I know. How annoying," Kanna muttered, glaring at Macchi's body. "Look, we're taking a break today, so there isn't going to be any training. Feel free to mess around, or whatever it is you do. I'll take care of Macchi."

Mari nodded, grabbed Chuck and left.

_Macchi's gonna yell at Mari later..._

Half an hour later, Macchi awoke. There was a strange feeling on her forehead...something rustling...She pulled off the piece of paper someone taped to her head, and bit back a scream. On the paper, written nicely, was '_Went out to drink. Be back whenever. -Kanna'_


	8. Chapter Seven: Not One, but Two?

Author's Note: Another chapter! Ah, breathe in that fresh goodness. BTW, I broke my foot...and had to have it operated on...now it hurts...that's all...

Disclaimer- Lalala, I can't hear you...

_Shit, shit, shit,_ Hao thought, staring at the letter on his desk. He was sitting in his study, where he went when he wanted to be alone. Or when he recieved letters from his brother announcing changes in plans that would _not_ benefit Hao.

That was the reason he was there now.

Yoh, his _wonderful_ brother, had decided to arrive a week early. Tomorrow. And he sent this letter only yesterday.

Hao _knew_ he shouldn't have spoiled the brat as a child. He _knew_ it would come back to bite him in the-

Okay. Unpleasant image. That didn't matter. What did matter was that Yoh and his clan were going to arrive tomorrow. It wasn't that the tower they used when they visited wasn't ready. It had been for three weeks (Hao had checked everyday for the last week, after his previous run-in with Mari). But it was because they'd want to see Mari's abilities. Yes, the girl was quite talented when it came to telekinesis and mind-manipulation, but she had no tolerance what-so-ever for faster than normal speed, and no one had any clue as to what her unique abilities were.

In other words, it was _embarassing_ for Hao, to have such a vampire as member of his clan.

"Opacho," he said. The girl teleported in front of his desk. Contrary to what everyone else believed, forsesight and casting an astral form wasn't Opacho's _only_ abilities. They were just her favorite.

"Yes, Hao-sama?"

"My..._brother,_" Hao ground the word out. Right now he was not feeling very brotherly towards Yoh. Though he had a feeling Yoh's mate was to blame. "My brother is going to arrive _tomorrow._ Is the new girl in the least bit ready?"

Opacho looked nervous. "We-ell..."

Hao narrowed his eyes. "Answer me, Opacho."

"No," she sighed. "Her telekinesis is remarkable- I have no doubt she'll impress the other clan-leaders with her mastery of it-, but she is reluctant to _force_ anyone to do anythig through mind-manipulation. I've seen how she works. She justs puts a suggestion into the human's head, but with little force behind it. At any suggestion to make someone do something they normally wouldn't, she grows quite angry. As you know, she has an extreme case of motion sickness. But, I do have a clue as to what one of her unique abilities might be."

Hao raised an eyebrow. "One? Opacho, most vampires only have one unique abilities. What makes you think she's different?"

"Well," she began hesitantly. "I have a..._feeling_...that she's special. I mean, look at how easily she mastered telekinesis. Plus, last night, when I saw her yesterday, she had a very bad sunburn-"

_From all the time she spent in the garden...idiot, doesn't she know vampires get bad sunburns? **That's** why we're nocturnal..._

"-and the next morning it was gone."

"So you think one of her abilities is healing?" Hao asked.

"Noo," Opcaho shifted uncomfortably. "I've been studying books on unique abilities that have appeared throughout the centuries, and not once has a vampire had a healing ability. We don't need it. We heal fast enough as it is."

Hao leaned back. Oh, boy, he felt a headach coming on.

"And?"

"I did come across another ability, called biokinesis. It's the ability to alter the biology of an organism. If used in a certain way, I supposed it could be used to heal. I need to do more research, but I think it's most definately that."

Nodding, Hao asked, "How long will that take?"

"...I won't be done before your brother arrives, Hao-sama."

"Damn." he sighed. "Well, get started. Report to me when you learn something."

"Hai," Opacho bowed slightly, and backed out of the office.

Sighing again, Hao leaned back in his chair. "Special, huh?"

Mari sighed. She had been practicing walking faster than normal for the last week, but she still had motion sickness. She hadn't even adjusted a _bit_. Sure, she could prevent herself from being violently sick for a few minutes, but once she stopped, it all caught up to her. So, at the current moment, instead of practicing, she was laying on her bed, trying to ignore that in two hours, she would have to go back to practicing (though she was now positive she would _never_ be able to tolerate super speed, even though she _was_ the one who said she'd adjust...).

"Oh, shit."

The young vampire tilted her head, looking over her shoulder to see Macchi, whose sudden outburst startled Mari. The younger-looking-but-in-reality-much-older (Mari finally learned Macchi's true age- one hundred and thirty-eight years old) vampire had walked into the room a few minutes ago, staring at a piece of paper. Now, she was pacing around the room (at super speed...Mari didn't feel so good...) muttering all sorts of curses.

Closing her eyes to block out the Macchi-blur, she reached out with her telekinesis and stopped Macchi in her tracks.

"What. Is. The. Matter. Macchi?" she asked slowly. Macchi looked at her. A high-pitched sound came from from her throat, and she threw herself on her bed. "Macchi? Macchi, Mari is worried," Mari said after several minutes.

"Yoh-sama is arriving _tomorrow_. Tomorrow and you can't even go at super-speed! Hao-sama is going to _kill_ us!"

"Is that all?" Mari scoffed. "Look, Mari will just...just...AHHH! WE'RE DOOMED!"

Both girls wailed, overcome by a feeling of helplessness, when Kanna walked into the room and smacked them over the heads with a rolled up piece of paper.

"Be quiet you brats!" she yelled. The other two started to hyperventilate.

"But Kanna Mari can't run at super-speed-" "Hao-sama will be mad-" "-still gets motion sick-" "-he'll kill us-" "can't do it-" "don't want to die-" "-fail-" "-too young-"

"SHUT UP!" Kanna screamed, hitting both girls several times. They stared at her, shocked, and slowly began to breath normally. "Now, listen. Yoh-sama is kind, and very easy-going. I'm sure he won't mind. And we still have a week before the pyscho-bitch arrives. If we can find some spell or something to get rid of or temporarily negate Mari's motion sickness, we're good. That's just what we'll have to do from now on."

"Research in the library?" Macchi asked. "But-"

"No buts!" Kanna snapped. "That's what we're doing. I already asked Hao-sama, and he said Opacho-san will help."

Macchi protested again, and Mari sighed softly. She seemed to always cause trouble. Getting up, she quietly left the room. Walking down a few flights of stairs, Mari leaned against a wall. She really needed to figure out a way to not retch everytime she went faster than normal. The only person she knew of that could help her with that problem was Hao...sama...and she didn't know where to find him. Closing her eyes, she pictured the castle in her mind. If she was Hao, where would she be...?

Hao was in the side library, researching biokinesis. Ever since Opacho said that might be Mari's unique ability (one of them, she said) earlier, he'd decided to learn all he could about it. So far, all he got was that it was mentally changing someone or some_thing's_ biology. If Mari had that, it could be either very useful...or very dangerous, depending on how she used it. And who against.

He sighed, for probably the tenth time that day.

_I really need to find something less stressful to do..._

"Hao-sama?" Mari's voice startled Hao. He honestly didn't expect to see her until tomorrow, nor did he expect _her_ to be the one to find him.

"Yes?" he asked, turning slightly to acknowledge her. She walked closer, through the stacks, until she was standing next to him. He, of course, was sitting, so that gave her a height advantage.

_Damn...maybe I shouldn't have sat down..._

"Mari...Mari was wondering if...if maybe Hao-sama wasn't to busy...maybe he would...would..." she started fiddling with the old doll she held.

"Spit it out," Hao snapped. If she was going to waste his time, she better have a good reason.

"Mari was wondering if Hao-sama would help her find a way to prevent her motion sickness. Mari owes much to Hao-sama and everyone here, and does not wish to embarass them, so she wants to do her best."

If Hao wasn't imagining things- and he never did- Mari was..._blushing_. For some reason, Hao found that very cute.

Wait a minute. The great Hao-sama did _not_ find things cute. Especially not disrespectful, rude _brats_ who thought themselves better than him. Even if they were talented, adorable, and talked in an incredibly cute way-

_Stop Hao, bad thinking, bad thoughts, stop thinking like that!_

"Hao-sama?"

Breaking out of his thoughts, Hao replied, "If there was a way, don't you think I'd have already found it?"

Mari blinked.

"I _have_ been looking, you know. If you can't prove yourself useful, you embarass me, and the clan."

"Hao-sama says 'the clan' as if they aren't as important as him." she said.

Hao blinked. "Well, it's not to say that they aren't, but as the clan-master, the clan reflects me. If they look bad, I look bad. And I can't stand that Jeanne. She loves mocking me, and I swear, If she does this time, I'll kill her, treaty or no."

Mari laughed. "Hao-sama really is normal."

"Huh?" he looked at her. What did she mean, _normal_?

"What Mari means is, Hao-sama cares about appearances just as much as everyone else."

"Even you?" Hao asked, looking up at her.

"Mmm...Mari doesn't care what _strangers_ think of her ...but people she likes...Mari wants to be the best she can be..."

That caught Hao off-guard. He never expected that Mari would care what people think of her, friends or not. Briefly, he wondered if she cared what he thought of her...

"Mari," he asked, something popping into his head. "How did you find me? I didn't tell anyone I was coming here."

Mari shifted, and Hao found himself wondering why she wore such short dresses.

"Mari...just wanted to find Hao-sama...and somehow...she did," she whispered.

Pushing his previous thought _far_ out of his mind, Hao frowned. "You just did? How?"

Her expression became irritated. "Mari doesn't know how, she just did. Just like how she moved the block and got rid of her sunburn. She just did."

Hao blinked. "Mari...can you sense where people are? Is that how you found me?"

Hesitating, Mari nodded slowly. "Mari thinks so."

"What about now? Can you sense where...Macchi? is?"

Closing her eyes briefly, Mari said, "She left our room, and she's heading to the kitchen. Kanna's in the window, Opacho's in the big library, Nichrome is in the courtyard-"

"Mari," Hao cut her off. "That's...impressive."

And it was. Very few vampires in the history of vampires could sense the presence of others. Not only did she have one rare gift, but she had _two._

"Opacho was right," he muttered.


	9. Chapter Eight: Nightmare

Author's Note: Hey, I'm trying to post this as soon as possible to make up for the previous delay. I considered having Mari and Hao almost kiss in the last chapter, but decided not to. Whoo. Yoh and company arrive this chapter, but won't make an actual appearance until next chapter.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING!

This is a Mari chapter. And I've been considering making Mari make a friend in Lilirara's village, and possibly pairing that person with Ren. What do you think?

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own.

Damn.

"It is?" Mari asked. Sensing other people was rare? And the way Hao was looking at her was making her _very_ nervous. His eyes were a bit too...predatory...

"Yes. Very few vampires have that ability," he laughed shortly. "Mari, this could help make up for your motion sickness."

"It could?" Mari was getting confused.

"Yes, it could. And with your biokinesis-"

"What? What biokinesis? Hao, you're confusing Mari!"

Hao blinked. His expression turned slightly uneasy, as if he said something he shouldn't have. "Well, Mari, one of your unique abilities is biokinesis- the ability to mentally alter one's biology. That's how you got rid of your sunburn."

Nodding, Mari said "That makes sense. Mari wished she didn't have a sunburn, and the next day she didn't."

"Yeah. If you practiced, you could definitely do more than that."

Mari was shocked. Hao was _complimenting_ her.

"And since that's so rare- it's never shown up before- no one will be able to mock you for not being able to use super-speed."

Mari sank to her knees. That day seemed to be one surprise after another. She had _two_ new unique abilities, both of which Hao said were rare, Hao was complimenting her, and his eyes _still_ made her nervous-

Picking up a random book, she flipped through the pages. Stopping on a random page, she started reading.

_-and shortly before the first vampire was born, legend states that several witches came together and said "One day, we will be forgotten. Forgotten, but not gone. No, we will always be there, watching from the shadows, controlling and aiding who we please. These beings who are soon to be born, these _vampires_, they will exist in our shadow-_

Hao jumped as Mari slammed a book shut. He glanced at the title (_Legends of Before Time_- before vampires existed) and glanced at the girl. She was paler than normal, and shaking.

"Mari? What's wrong?" She was a valuable asset to his clan, no way was he going to ignore her health for the sake of pride.

"Just...Just everything is hitting Mari quickly. Mari is...shocked."

"Can you walk?" he asked, genuinely concerned. He couldn't let her get hurt, she was too rare.

Mari tried stand, wobbled, and slipped forward onto Hao. Catching her, Hao vaguely noted it looked like they were hugging, and casually remarked, "Well, Mari, you seem to fall everytime you see me. Not-so-subtle hints?"

He heard Mari snarl, and picked her up bridal-style. "I'll take you back to your room. I need you to rest, then tomorrow- or whenever you're feeling better- we can start your training."

Wait, Yoh and his clan were arriving tomorrow. No matter.

"We?" Mari's voice was barely comprehendable.

"Yes, we. I'll give Macchi and Kanna a break and train you myself."

Mari nodded, leaning into Hao's chest. Hao could have sworn he was blushing, except he didn't blush. He really hoped no one stumbled into his path right now...he'd be forced to kill them (because it would embarass him or because he liked this moment of alone time with Mari?).

Thankfully, he made it to the room Mari shared with the other two without running into anyone. It was still decorated with the flowers he had helped her carry up. He set her on her bed, and took the doll (Chuck, was it?) from her arms and set it on the nightstand. Tucking her in, he said "Sleep tight" and (on impulse) pecked her forehead.

* * *

There was a buzzing. A small, annoying, there-but-not-there buzzing. And it was right in Mari's ear.

"Shut up, Macchi," Mari mumbled.

The buzzing continued. Snarling, Mari sat up, and froze. No one was there. Now that she was awake, she realized the buzzing was coming from below. Closing her eyes, she pictured the castle, like she did when she was looking for Hao, and 'saw' that everyone except her was on the first floor. Along with over ten more people.

_Probably that Yoh-sama and his clan._ Mari pushed the blankets off of her and stood up. Dressing quickly (in her traditional black dress, with her hair in pigtails) she walked towards the door and froze.

_Chuck._ Spinning quickly, she paused. There was a white sheet of paper taped on the doll. _How could I have missed that?_

Grabbing the sheet, she read quietly,

_"'Mari, today Yoh-sama (Hao-sama's twin brother- they_ do_ look alike) and his clan are arriving. Stay upstairs (on the eighth floor) until me or Kanna comes and gets you. Macchi.'_ Macchi doesn't have very good grammar..."

Sighing, Mari sank onto her bed. What was she going to do? She _could_ always practice her abilities, but that wasn't too appealing. She could read one of Kanna's books. Grabbing one off the bookshelf (a recent addition), she began reading. It was incredibly boring, and before she finished the first chapter, Mari drifted off.

_It was dark. Mari stood alone, cringing as the shadows around her seemed to reach for her._

_"Very good, Mari," a young woman's voice said. Mari gasped. _

_"Mama?" Her voiced echoed, throwing her voice back at her. She winced at the sheer desperation she heard._

_"Haha, she's very talented, isn't she?" This time, it was a man's voice._

_"Papa!" Ignoring the echoes, she called again. "Mama! Papa! I'm here, Mari's right here!" Stretching her arms out, Mari stepped forward, searching._

_"Get rid of her. She's a menace, a danger. If you keep her, she'll kill you," a cold, cruel voice said. Mari froze._

_"No..." The shadows reached..._

_"What's this? A lost little girl? Where's your parents?"_

_"No..." ...and grabbed her. _

_"They left you behind?" _

_"No..." They grew..._

_"Would you like to be our little girl?"_

_"No..." ...and wrapped around her._

_"How dare you! Stop that at once!"_

_"No...please." They seemed to mock her, moving slowly. Fingers of ice moved from them, into Mari._

_"Stupid brat! Devil's child!"_

_"No, please, stop," The shadows covered her. The cold was unbearable._

_"I wish we never found you!"_

_"STOP!"_

Mari's eyes snapped open. Not that dream. Looking up, she whimpered.

The entire room was covered in ice. Icicles hung from the ceiling, and everything glimmered.

Surprisingly, she wasn't cold. In fact, she was rather warm. And strangely, the area around her wasn't frozen. The book she had been reading was missing, but there was some black dust where it had been (could the book had been burned? with what?).

Pulling her legs to her body, Mari curled into the fetal position, and shook. That was how Macchi found her, three hours later.


	10. Chapter Nine: Enter Anna

Author's Note: There were some questions regarding the last chapter, and here's my answer- read and find out. All will be revealed, because, I for one, hate stories that leave things unexplained.

This has a Yoh/Anna scene at the end. !WARNING! Mature implications at the end.

Macchi froze, and stared at Mari. What should she do? She could melt the ice, but she didn't have good control, and she could accidently hurt Mari. She could pull Mari out of the room, but Macchi had a sixth sense on when she should or shouldn't do things, and it was telling her moving Mari would be bad. She could (should) get Hao-sama, but what if he got mad? Casting a look at her friend, Macchi decided helping Mari was worth Hao-sama's anger.

At a normal pace, it would take a vampire twelve minutes to get from the eight floor to the first. Running, it would take seven, top speed, four. Macchi made it in three minutes and fifty-four seconds.

Stopping before she entered the main parlor, she took a deep breath and walked in. Heading straight for Hao-sama, she didn't pause until she was right next the chair her lord was sitting in. Leaning over, she whispered, "Hao-sama, there's a small problem with Mari."

Hao-sama frowned slightly, and Macchi briefly wondered if getting Hao-sama was the best idea.

"What do you mean?" he asked, just as softly.

"Well, it's, ah- Hao-sama really should see it for himself." Note to self: prolonged exposure to Mari results in talking like her.

"Can't you take care of it?"

"Nooo...I don't think I can."

Hao-sama sat still for a moment, then stood up. "I'm sorry, there's something I must attend to." His brother, Yoh-sama, looked curious, but wisely didn't ask anything. Macchi caught Kanna's inquisitive look, and slightly shook her head. She'd explain later, but now, she had to follow Hao-sama. Dimmly, she noticed Opacho-san following as well.

It wasn't often that Hao was grateful his brother's clan had their own share of mishaps, but now was one of those times. Yoh had enough issues with the Ainu and Tao trying to kill each other (and consequently destroying everything around them) that he wouldn't ask questions unless Hao offered answers.

"Hao-sama...what-" Opacho began, but stopped.

"See, Hao-sama! I definately couldn't take care of this on my own," Macchi said. She was managing to keep her emotions at bay, but Hao could tell she was close to breaking down. It wasn't everyday she found her best friend in a room full of ice.

Hao nodded briefly, then walked carefully over the ice to kneel next to Mari's huddled form. Opacho followed.

"Mari? Mari, are you okay?" she asked while Hao examined the ice. Strangely, it all stopped evenly about six inches from Mari. "Mari? Mari, you need to answer me," Opacho urged, shaking the girl. Not that it made much of a difference. She was already shaking worse than a leaf in a hurricane.

"Mari," Hao said, leaning forward a bit. "Answer Opacho."

Mari stopped shaking. "Ha...o? Sama?"

"Yes. Mari, what happened?" Hao watched as Opacho helped Mari sit up. The girl's face was paler than normal, he noticed, and some black powder covered her hands.

"Mari doesn't- Mari doesn't know."

_Strange,_ Hao thought. She wasn't meeting anyone's eyes.

"Mari! Are you okay?" Macchi called from across the room.

Mari blinked. "Macchi? Why is Macchi so far away?"

Hao chuckled. Ten feet wasn't far. "She's scared of ice, Mari. She has a habit of slipping."

"Painfully," Macchi added ruefully.

"Not to interrupt or anyting, but has anyone else noticed that we're in the only warm spot in the room?" Opacho interjected. Now that she mentioned it, it _was_ rather warm.

"Now that you mention it," Hao said. "Yeah. Macchi, is it cold over there?"

Macchi shot him a scathing look, and he briefly caught her thoughts (_is it cold- of course it's cold the fricken' room is covered in ice-)_ before she nodded.

"Mari, what exactly happened before Macchi found you?" Opacho asked.

"Mari was...cold..." the girl mused.

"I wonder why?" Hao said dryly.

Mari scowled. "The ice didn't appear until after Mari was cold."

"Its cryokinesis." A voice said. Everyone turned.

"Hello, Anna." Hao greeted the speaker.

Mari stared at this 'Anna'. Her hair was blonde, a few shades darker than Mari's own, and her eyes were coal black. She wore a red bandana around her neck, and a black dress.

"Hao," she nodded to him.

"What was that you said?" Hao asked.

Mari looked at Macchi, then Anna, then back to Macchi, who mouthed 'Yoh-sama's mate'.

Oh. No wonder she didn't address Hao as Hao-sama (Mari didn't either, but Mari was Mari, therefore entitled to be...odd).

"Cryokinesis. It's a mental gift that involves pulling heat out of objects."

The youngest vampire frowned. She had just found out she had two gifts, now she had three? Great. Why couldn't she be normal? Well, as normal as a vampire could get.

"And you know this how?" Hao sounded doubtful, Mari was delighted to hear. Maybe he wouldn't believe her, and they would forget, and-

"I study gifts as a hobby, dimwit."

Mari mentally threw up her hands. And of course, things never went her way.

"Oh." Although, the chance to see Hao get told (an expression Ashil seemed to adore, for whatever reason) might be worth it.

Anna stared directly at Mari and (was that Mari's imagination?) smiled. Anna didn't seem like the type to smile, so Mari decided to believe it was just her imagination. Turning, she called over her shoulder, "She's cute, Hao. Better than I thought you would have chosen."

And for whatever reason, one Mari couldn't fathom, Hao turned a _very_ interesting shade of red, Opacho snorted, and Macchi stared at Mari with wide eyes.

Due to the night's earlier...incident, it was decided that Yoh's clan would meet Mari the next night (Though those who run into her during the day should take the chance and talk to her), and that night Hao's clan would meet Manta, the other newly turned vampire. Though since he had been a vampire for nearly two years, he wasn't new. Manta was an intelligent boy- (and though he claimed he was fifteen, he only looked twelve), and his unique gift was that he remembered everything he learned. Not really a vampiric gift, but since it only developed recently, they had no other choice than to believe him.

'Weird midget,' Macchi had thought.

'What a big head,' Kanna thought.

'He's shorted than me!' Opacho had whined mentally, stopping only when Hao gave her a quick glare. Even favorites could get annoying.

Blocken's thoughts- 'Build, build, must build' were normal, but after Hao heard Bill's thought's- 'What a nice football that kid make' he stopped listening to others opinions.

Manta may not have been a very talented vampire, but it was obvious his clan was fond of him. Yoh adored him (Hao briefly wondered that if he had gotten Yoh that puppy he had wanted while they were still human, would he have chosen Manta to join his clan?), and the fact that Anna liked him (shown by how she only hit him twice) told Hao's clan that they had to be nice to the boy. They had all been hit by Anna at least once (and in BoZ's case, several times), and none of them were anxious to repeat it.

Hao spent the rest of the night discussing a variety of things with the Tao siblings, Ren and Jun (who really paid more attention to Pyron than the conversation), Tamao (who couldn't stop staring at HoroHoro- _what is it with these people_? Hao thought), and Borris. HoroHoro goofed off with Chocolove, Ashil and Zen, while the remaining females, Opacho, Kanna, Pirika, and Eliza (Macchi had refused to leave Mari, claiming she was 'too tired to entertain the guests'), dragged Anna off into another room (to question her on her love-life, Hao supposed). Blocken, Faust, and Manta were putting _something_ together, and everyone else (Yoh, Nichrome, Ryo, Peyote, Zang-ching, Turbine, and Ryu) mainly discussed recent happenings among the 'lesser' clans.

Basically, it was exactly like what happened each time the two clans got together.

Yoh watched as his wife chose her nightgown. She moved gracefully, yet slowly, as if whichever choice she made would have a great impact on the rest of her life. Though he found it amusing, Yoh knew better than to say so. Plus, he enjoyed the few minutes of silence, which he used to admire his wife and wonder what he did to deserve her. He knew (and had been told quite often) that Anna often thought the same thing. Both considered themselves lucky to have the other. Eventually, she decided on a slinky blue gown, and shimmied into it quickly.

As she crawled into their bed, Yoh said lazily, "So, I heard you met the new girl today."

Anna nodded slightly.

"And?"

"And what?" she mumbled, pulling the down comforter up.

"And what is your professional opinion of her?" Yoh chuckled as Anna rolled her eyes.

"Why is it so important to you what I think?"

Rolling onto his back, Yoh listed the reasons using his fingers. "You have a good judge of character. You can tell what people are thinking. You're honest. And you're my wife. Why wouldn't I care about your opinion?"

Anna smiled softly, and moved over to lay partially on Yoh's stomach. "Well, that's all true, normally, but...well, let's jst say this girl is different. I couldn't read her mind, or tell what type of character she had. But, I can say this, I think your brother is very fond of her."

"Oh?" Yoh's voice still held it's normal, lazy tone, but he was very interested in what Anna had to say on _that_ subject.

"Yep. He was right next to her, and before I let them know I was there, she called him Hao, no honorifics, and he let her get away with it, and he _chuckled_. And you know I don't use the word chuckled very often."

"Well, its about time." Yoh laughed. Anna gave him another one of her rare smiles, and he shifted so they were face-to-face. "Now, we have all day. What would you like to do?"

Anna kissed him quickly, then curled up under the covers. "For now, I want to sleep. But, later...we'll see."


	11. Chapter Ten: A Talk With Manta

Author's Note: New chapter. Sorry for the wait...I'm reaching that point...you know, the one where its hard to write...or type. Don't worry, I WILL finish this story...sometime...like, uh... I WILL WORK HARD!

Disclaimer: Really, do I look like a Japanese male? No! I am an American female...I would love to own Shaman King...or at least the Shaman King boys.

The next morning when Hao went to see if Mari was ready to start training, he was surprised to see all three of the room's inhabitants sleeping. All the ice in the room had been melted (probably by Macchi. The girl loved playing with fire, even if she had little control) and there were puddles of water everywhere. Kanna was floating slightly above her bed, (being able to manipulate gravity must very useful, especially when one's bed looked very wet), and Macchi was curled up with Mari next to the bookshelf.

"Get up," he said, nudging Mari with his foot. She groaned and moved away from his foot. "Mari." He nudged her again. This time, she kicked out in his direction, muttering 'go away'. Hao frowned.

Drawing on his hydrokinetic ability, he moved some of the water from Kanna's bedspread, and made it hit Mari in the face. With a shriek, she sat up. Noting her wet face, and Hao standing nearby, she made the connection and glared at him. Quickly, though, it was replaced with her usual look of boredom.

"Hao..-sama," she added as an after thought . "Why is Hao-sama in Mari's room?"

"Because Hao-sama is supposed to begin Mari's training today," Hao said, mimicking her way of speaking. Mari blinked.

"Oh. Um, Hao-sama, Mari isn't feeling very well," she held her stomach. "Mari's stomach, uh, hurts."

Hao stared at her in amazment. Did she really think that half-assed excuse would work? "Mari-" he began, then stopped. This would undoubtedly lead to an argument and Mari's two roommates were still asleep. Even the all-mighty Hao wasn't brave enough to interupt the 'beauty sleep' of two female vampires. "Follow me."

When they were both in the hallway, Hao glared at Mari (something that would make most people cower, but she just looked at him). "Your stomach does not hurt."

"It does too! Mari's stomach hurts very much!" she protested.

"Look, I can read minds, and I know that your stomach does not hurt!"

Mari glared at him. "So?"

Hao blinked. _Okay, she just _agreed_ with something _I_ said- something she rarely- actually, I don't think she's ever agreed with me._

"Maybe you don't feel good..." he muttered, placing his hand against Mari's forehead. Her face flushed and she smacked his hand away. Hao sighed. "Fine. You don't have to strat training today. But there's less then a week until Jeanne's clan arrives, and I want you to be able to use each of your abilities decently by then."

"Fine."

"Okay. Well, then, you have a free day. Enjoy it." With that, Hao headed back towards his study. When he arrived, he saw Opacho sitting in his chair.

"Opacho."

"Hello, Hao-sama."

"I supposed you're here for a reason?" Hao shifted slightly. He'd die before admiting it, but sometimes Opacho got a certain gleam in her eyes that made him feel very nervous. It was the gleam that appeared every April Fool's Day (which only Opacho, Macchi, and Nichrome celebrated) before she revealed that year's prank.

"What Anna-sama said last night. You know, about Mari? I was wondering if it was true."

"That is none of your business," Hao replied. "And it'd be wise if you didn't mention that to anyone."

Opacho smiled, nodded, then got up. As she brushed pass Hao, she said "But, just so you know, I agree with Anna-sama," then took off running.

Opacho didn't stop runing until she reached the first floor. Her shoulder shook with laughter and she gasped for breath. The look on Hao's face when she mentioned Mari was priceless.

"Opacho-san?"

_Well, well, well. Speak of the devil._

Mari was a few feet away, staring at Opacho quizically.

"Is Opacho-san okay?"

"Yeah, Mari. I'm fine. Just thinking of something funny." She waved to Mari, and walked off laughing.

_Everyone in this castle is crazy._ Mari thought to herself. It was a good thing Hao agreed to let her have the day off- even if it meant she was going to have to spend even _more_ time with him tomorrow. _Not necessarily a bad-AH! SHUT UP MARI!_ She mentally scolded herself for almost thinking spending time with Hao was good- especially since the time he'd be spending with her would be dedicated to training her powers. Which Mari did not want to do.

After walking for sometime, she found herself entering one of the 'smaller' libraries. Immediately she knew that someone else was in there. "Hello?" she called tentaively. "Who's here?"

When no one answered, she found herself thinking _Ghost don't exist ghost don't exist, wait, if vampires exist, why can't ghosts exist oh no there's a ghost in here Mari doesn't like ghosts-_

She was cut off by a small "Hello!" Peeking out from behind a library stack was a small, boyish face topped with messy dirty-blonde hair.

"Hello," she replied. "Who are you?"

He smiled. "I'm Manta! I'm the newest member of Yoh's clan. You must be Mari. It's nice to meet you!"

Mari blinked. She was now standing next to him, and he was shorter than she thought. In fact, he was very short. "Manta is very short."

Manta laughed. "I know. Everyone says that. But I can't help it! I was turned into a vampire when I was thirteen! Naturally I wouldn't look fifteen- which is how old I am."

Mari giggled. "Manta is very accepting of his shortness."

"Well, I can't change it, so why bother about it? So, Mari, what are your abilities?"

"Ah." she was surprised that Manta changed the subject so quickly- an art she never really mastered. It would be helpful in case anyone ever decided to ask about her family. "W-well, Mari has the typical telekinesis, and manipulating people, and also she can sense where people are and she has something called biokinesis and chro- cryokinesis."

"Ah! How interesting. You have a lot of powers. You must enjoy it."

Mari looked away. "Not really. Mari just wants to be normal. She didn't want to become a vampire- Hao forced her."

"Oh. That must be sad," Manta frowned. "Yoh didn't force me to become a vampire."

"He didn't?"

"No. See, ever since I was young, I've been very ill on and off. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. My parents didn't let me leave the house very often- almost never. But one day I snuck out. I was in town and after some time, I started to feel bad. I fainted, and the next thing I knew, I woke up and found out that Yoh had found me on the street. He let me stay with him and over the days, we became friends. Yoh told me about what he was, and that if I became a vampire, I would be healthier. Naturally, I didn't believe him at first, but when he proved it, you could say I jumped at the chance."

It was a pretty short and to the point story, Mari noted. Most likely, the small one (as she was now calling Manta in her mind) had left out most of the details, offering her the kiddie version. Even though she was _obviously_ older than him.

"What is Manta's unique abilities," she asked, pushing the thought to the back of her mind.

"I remember everything I've ever learned or read. Ren and Horohoro say its useless, but Yoh, and even Anna, disagree."

"Anna? Anna-sama, Yoh's-" _What was the word used?­-_ "mate?"

"Yeah, one and the same. She hits me a lot, but she always asks me to help her research." Manta smiled.

"Manta likes helping?"

"Of course! The clan is my family now, and everyone wants to help their family. Right?"

_His family?_ Mari nodded absently.

"Well, I'm going to go now. It was nice meeting you."

_Family?_ Mari mouthed the word. It left a bitter taste on her tongue. The whole time she had been here, she had only though of the clan as 'the clan'. Not as her family. _Everyone_ _wants to help their family?_ Yes, that was true. Briefly, Mari remembered a pigtailed little girl trying to fix something and getting punished for it. Yes, she had once wanted to help her family. But now she didn't have a family to try to help. She couldn't think of the clan (people she'd only known for a few months) as her family.

_Mari barely knows them. They barely know Mari_.

"Mari? Are you in there?"

Mari turned around. "Yes, Macchi, Mari is here."

Macchi ran towards her. "Mari, what are you doing here? I heard Hao-sama wanted to start your training today. Why aren't you-"

"Macchi? Are we- is the clan Mari's family?"

The oranged-haired girl stopped speaking. "What?"

"Is the clan Mari's family?"

"Uh, yeah? I mean, we aren't your siblings or cousins or anything, but yeah, we're your family."

"Why?"

"I-I don't know. We just are. Why do you ask?"

Mari smiled softly. "No real reason. Mari was just curious."

_If they are Mari's family-_

"Come one Mari! If I'm gonna be attuned to your schedule, you're gonna watch _Halloween_ with me!"

_-maybe it wasn't such a horrible thing, to be changed._

AN: It may seem like a filler (it mostly is) but there are some important things in here. Please forgive its suckiness! The next chapter will be better!


	12. Chapter Eleven: Musings and Marriage

AN: I'm back with a new chapter! I finally wrote my half-sister, telling her of my existence...please wish me luck! Anyway, If you see any mistakes, tell me.

Mari sighed, poking Macchi for what had to be the hundredth time.

_First she drags Mari to watch a movie with her, then she falls asleep? That's...just like Macchi. Maybe Mari should cut her hair, or draw on her face, or-or-_

Sighing, she squeezed Chuck. "Mari is out of ideas."

"For what?"

Mari squeaked, turning so quickly she fell off the couch. "Ow!" she hissed.

"Out of ideas for what?" It was Zen and Ryo, or BoZ, as they preferred to be called.

"Uh, Macchi fell asleep while making Mari watch _Halloween_, but Mari can't think of anything to do as revenge other than cutting her hand or drawing on her face," Mari confessed, slightly embarassed at falling so gracelessly.

"Oh, that's easy-" Zen began.

"-just put make-up on her!" finished Ryo.

"Huh?"

"I'll be back," Zen said, before he disappeared, only to reappear a second later holding a large box. "It's Ashil's make-up box!"

"What?"

"As we said, its easy," Ryo repeated as he opened the box. "Macchi hates make-up-"

"-so for revenge, just put some on her!" Zen smirked as he applied some bright red lipstick to Macchi's lips.

"Especially really guady stuff!"

Mari watched in amazement as Macchi's face changed from a sweet-looking fourteen year old into a trashy looking clown. She looked so ridiculous Mari had to practically place her fist in her mouth in order to not burst out laughing.

"Now, the price for us doing this is that you can't tell her about us," Zen said, packing up.

"You take the blame," Ryo paused. "Or say you don't know."

The two disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. Mari took another look at Macchi, committing the picture to memory, then took off. She did _not_ want to be around when Macchi realized what had been done to her face.

The days until Jeanne's clan arrived went by quickly. Hao trained Mari each day, sleeping at night (which made him feel way too human). To his delight, she seemed to have good control over her abilities, being able to sense where anyone is, heal and harm whoever volunteered, and pull heat out of anything. And he enjoyed he time he spent with her. Not that he would _ever_ admit it to anyone, though everytime he saw Anna, she'd made some comment. Even Yoh had begun to say things ('Hey, Hao, where's that girl of yours?' 'So, Hao, any progress?'-wink, nudge- and the one which never failed to make Hao turn red 'So, Hao, what are you going to name your first kid?').

He had no idea _where_ they got the idea that he liked Mari (certainly not from Opacho- but the little brat had been giving Mari weird looks lately, so maybe...), because he didn't. She was just the youngest member of his clan, the youngest, most disobediant, cutest, sweetest- _what was he thinking?!_ Mari cute? Mari sweet? No way! She was just a rude little brat that happened to be completely adorab-

Hao shook his head fiercely. There was no way in hell he thought that Mari was cute, sweet, OR adorable (but didn't cute and adorable mean the same thing? Ugh, his face was probably red). She was a stubborn brat. That's all. He looked in his mirror. Yep, his face was cherry red. Great, just great.

A knock on the door made him curse. He would just ignore whoever it was. They'd go away.

"Hao?"

Or not.

"Come in, Yoh," Hao called, frowning. As much as he wished he could just send Yoh away, if he tried, Yoh would get Anna, who would knock the door down. And Hao was tired of getting smacked by his brother's mate.

Yoh slid into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Hey, _nii-chan_," he smirked. "You're blushing. Thinking of Mari?"

"If you're just here to tease me, _get out_," Hao hissed.

Yoh held up his hands in surrender, sitting on the end of Hao's bed. "No, no, I came for a serious reason."

"And that would be?"

"Well, I know Anna and I have been harassing you about your feelings for Mari-"

"_I do not have feelings for her!"_ Hao shouted.

His brother rolled his eyes, saying "Whatever. We just want you to know that we don't want Jeanne to try to use Mari against you- in any way. So we told our clan not to say anything about her-"

"What would they say?" Hao asked suspiously.

"That you refuse to adit that you're in love with her- Hao! I'm trying to be serious! Put the lamp down!" When Yoh was certain that his elder brother wasn't going to try to brain him, he continued. "So, we're giving our word that neither our clan or us will make Jeanne think Mari is anything more than she is."

For some strange reason, that relieved Hao, the way the thought of Jeanne hurting Mari made his insides go numb. It just did. Strange, he's not normally this protective of his clan.

"Thank-you," he said, nodding slightly.

Yoh laughed, running his hand through his hair. A glint caught Hao's eye.

"You're wearing your ring," he stated. Yoh paused, then looked at his hand.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot what wearing on my finger was like, so I decided to wear it."

They both examined the golden wedding band in silence. It was a big secret that Yoh and Anna had gotten married in the human fashion, such a big secret that only Yoh, Anna, and Hao knew. Vampires had their own traditions, and marriage among them was called mating and was really just a formal ceremony telling everyone that two particular vampires were together and off the market. But simply telling vampires that Yoh was Anna's and Anna was Yoh's wasn't enough for the two- they spent enough time among humans that they wanted a real wedding. So one day (back before Hao had his own clan, centuries ago) they'd dragged him out of bed to a chapel they had reserved, and in front of Hao, a priest, two ducks, and three sheep, they'd gotten married.

No matter how tough Hao was (or tried to be) he couldn't deny that he was grateful he got to go to Yoh's wedding.

"So, you think you'll ever get married?" Yoh asked, a devilish glint in his eyes. "Maybe to Mari?"

Hao sputtered, not able to form any words. He stopped trying to stop, grabbed a pillow, then threw it at Yoh's head.

"Ow! Okay, okay, sorry, I just had to say one last thing!"

"Get out!"

Yoh ran out of the room, his laughter trailing behind him. Hao glared after him, even after the door had shut. There was no way he was getting married. That was for hopelessly-in-love fools, like Yoh. Not for him. He turned off all the lights, preparing to sleep.

No, marriage was definately not for him.


End file.
